Travel Tip: Art and Archaeology in GermanyEgypt’s Sunken Treasures

French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio explored the seabed off the coast of the modern city of Alexandria in Egypt and in the Bay of Abukir for ten years and discovered magnificent artefacts of Egyptian history dating from 700 to 800 A.D. These objects sank into the sea as a result of a series of natural disasters. Monumental statues as well as coins, jewellery, and cult items were located with state-of-the-art techniques and then salvaged. Legendary locations such as the ancient port of Alexandria with its royal quarters, the long-lost city of Herakleion and remnants of the city of Kanopus have been rediscovered. Approximately 500 artefacts from these spectacular underwater excavations are on view in Bonn. These objects offer insights into 1,500 years of Egyptian history from the last of the Pharaohs to Alexander the Great and the Greek rulers on the Nile up to the Roman era.